OCFY WHITE CHRISTMAS

Well, as hard as it is to believe, another year is almost gone. The holiday season is upon us with Thanksgiving coming up in a couple of weeks. For me, the real kickoff of the Christmas and holiday season is when I hear Andy Williams’ version of “It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” Yes, I’m that old. Don’t rub it in. Here at On Canvas for You, we are anticipating being very busy because of how many people enjoy giving their loved ones printed and framed canvas for holiday gifts, as well as using them to decorate their own homes. Before things get too crazy around here, I would like to share something that a lot of folks will find interesting and something that is close to my heart.

I grew up on the east coast where it was not uncommon for us to get snow for Christmas. Now that I live in Southern California that does not happen. As we know, there is a very popular song this time of year, made famous by Bing Crosby titled “White Christmas.” What most people don’t know, however is that before Bing recorded the song, he removed the writer, Irving Berlin’s opening verse. It seems that the song was originally written by Berlin in his Beverly Hills, California home. He was trying to say how sad it was to spend Christmas in Los Angeles where there is no chance of a white Christmas. Because Bing Crosby’s version without the first verse became so famous, it is very rare to hear anyone ever perform it with the first verse intact. I thought you might like to see the original first verse, so I wrote it out below.

The sun is shining, the grass is green,
The orange and palm trees sway.

There’s never been such a day
in Beverly Hills, L.A.
But it’s December the twenty-fourth,

And I am longing to be up North

And then it goes into what we all thought of as the first line…

I’m dreaming of a White Christmas

Just like the ones I used to know

It is an interesting story, and one that is close to my heart because now that I live in Southern California, I can’t help but long for the days as a child with a bite in the air and snow on the ground. Of course, I don’t miss having to shovel that snow.

I hope you enjoyed this little piece of trivia. I also hope you will consider purchasing one of our products to make your holidays a little bit more beautiful. And as a reminder, for every order we get, we make a donation to a deserving non-profit. This year’s recipient is The Boys & Girls Clubs. This is an incredibly worthy cause and one I hope you would consider making a donation to whether you make a purchase from On Canvas For You or not. A lot of really great children count on the Clubs as a safe haven and their home away from home.

Happy Holidays!!! John

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